Monday morning came quicker than Stefan would like.
He had spent the whole weekend making love to Lilly and introducing her to the delights of s*x. Lilly had proved to be a quick learner and a keen student- in fact she was so keen she had spent Stefan several times and he had awoken this morning tired and with aching muscles, not that he regretted it as every steamy s*x act they shared and every time they had passionately made love would forever be carved into his memory and it was with out doubt the best weekend of his life.
Getting out of bed he looked at the clock and was horrified to discover it was already 8 am, he was usually up at 5 am and already in the office by 7.30 am. He wasn't retired from the Mafia yet or cashed out his shares so he could retire and enjoy spending his days with Lilly so he reluctantly made his way to the bathroom to grab a quick shower- he had two empires to run!
After his shower, Stefan quietly got dressed and was amused to see Lilly was sprawled out on the bed snoring loudly, if he was tired and ached she must be exhausted from their weekend long love making since she was a virgin when the weekend begun. Reminding himself not to make the same mistake he did the morning after they had made love, leave with out telling her where he was gone, Stefan grabbed a pen and piece of paper from the bedside table draw and wrote Lilly a note.
"Good morning my angel, I have gone to the office but be home in time to get ready for our dinner with Gemma tonight- which I promise to be on my best behaviour for. I have not told Gemma about the dinner yet so
she will come into work her normal shift at 10 am (I thought it best not to ask her before hand in case she said no ) Aiden will wake you up at 9am to get ready and I have arranged for a Spa day for you girls to bond before dinner. I love you Stefan- p.s you are gorgeous even when you are snoring like a bear .x"
Placing the note on her bedside table he gave Lilly a light kiss on the forehead, laughing when in her sleep Lilly swatted him away before he went downstairs where Marcus and Aiden where waiting on him.
"Good morning Boss," Aiden said respectfully bowing.
"What time do you call this you lazy sod ! " Marcus teased.
"Good morning to you too Aiden thank you for remembering who you are talking to, perhaps you can take the time to remind Marcus." Stefan said coldly glaring at Marcus which only made Marcus laugh as he knew Stefan was teasing.
"I know who I am talking too a man who by the look of his tired eyes had a very...energetic weekend." Marcus winked and Stefan rolled his eyes.
"My weekend was good thank you and that's all the information you'll be getting from me Lilly's not like the rest of the girls I have been with I respect her too much and won't speak about her like shes a w***e. Speaking of whores how was your weekend at the club ?" Stefan asked Marcus as Aiden poured him some coffee and Stefan nodded his thanks. "As tiring as yours..." Marcus said winking making Aiden and Stefan laugh.
"I am glad they earned the large bonuses I will be paying them, did you join Marcus and the rest of the men at the club Aiden ?
"No Boss, I am a married man," Aiden said sincerely pleasing Stefan, it
might be common for Mafia men to cheat on their wife's (it was just one of
many ways the reminded them of their lowly place) but Stefan never
approved of it.
"I make sure men in my employment don't beat their wife's and if they
do they are dealt with harshly, but I can't force them to be faithful. I am glad
you don't disrespect your wife in such a manner, Donna is a good woman."
Stefan said.
"She certainly is Boss and a frightening woman too...another reason
why I wouldn't disrespect her so, she'll cut of my balls." Stefan and Marcus
burst out in hysterics but they both knew Aiden was telling the truth.
"I am certain she would. I am glad the girls at the club lifted your spirits
Marcus but we are late so we better go we have lots of meetings today and
then I need to go down to Tease to deal with a few Mafia business matters.
Aiden stay here as usual, I have given all the staff apart from security staff the
day and night off because Lilly has requested that I have dinner with her
and Gemma tonight, as apparently Lilly wants to be friends with her but
thinks I am frightening her off... so we are having dinner together tonight so I
can' show Gemma my other side'. Gemma has been asked to come in as
normal at 10 am, I didn't ask if she would like to come for dinner as I knew she would probably say no and this is important to Lilly so I have organised a Spa day here for the girls to bond which will hopefully soothe both of their anger towards me for tricking Gemma rather than extending an invitation. The house will be quite today since the only staff in are security personnel so you can relax in the living room or garden and don't need to be Lilly all day, however do not leave the premises yourself or let the girls leave on their own and check in with Lilly every hour or so, understand?" Stefan asked in an intimidating voice- when it came to Lilly's safety he took matters very seriously, especially after Mia and Mr Sinclair.
"Yes Boss, understood. " Aiden said grimacing a little at the prospect of having to deal with two angry women when Lilly came down and Gemma arrived, he hoped Stefan had ordered the whole spa works to soothe their tempers.
"I hope you ordered the whole spa package for them both or it may just be your last dinner tonight." Marcus joked, feeling confident enough to say what all three of them were thinking.
"You sound so worried about my possible demise," Stefan joked as he put on his jacket getting ready to leave. "Oh and Aiden wake Lilly up at 9 am please, with a tray of coffee and a bowl of cereal." Stefan ordered as he didn't bother to make eye contact with Marcus as he left and Marcus followed behind, still laughing at Stefan's predicament.
Lilly was awoken from her erotic dream about Stefan with a continuous knock at the door.
Sighing Lilly looked at the clock and saw it was 9.15 am, she was usually a morning person and woke up at 6 am but the weekend had really tired her out. "I am coming!!" Lilly shouted as she wrapped herself in Stefan's overly
large and fluffy dressing gown and made her way to open the door.
"Oh, Aiden good morning. " Lilly smiled happily " oh you brought me breakfast, thank you. How kind! "Lilly said as she took the offered tray and placed it on the table.
"Good morning Lilly, Mr Marconi asked that I wake you at 9 am so you will have time to get ready for Gemma arriving at 10 am. " Aiden said nervously knowing what was a bout to come next.
"Oh, but our dinner isn't until tonight, surely Stefan gave her the day off like the rest of the staff?" Lilly asked confused.
" Mr Marconi said he had left you a note on your dressing table, I will see you downstairs when your ready." Aiden said before he nodded and left rather abruptly.
How odd Lilly thought, but as she read Stefan's note it became clear why Aiden was acting nervous, he assumed Lilly was be angry when she found out Stefan had tricked Gemma into coming for dinner rather than just inviting her and he was right, Lilly was furious! Didn't Stefan understand what Lilly was trying to accomplish? She wanted to build a friendship with Gemma not have a employer/employees girlfriend relationship, that man! Honestly for a man with so much intelligence she swore Stefan could be thick at times! Sighing Lilly took a deep breath and focused on the nice things he had written in the note to cool her anger.
Lilly knew Stefan was a very successful business man and a Mafia Boss and with those two roles Stefan was used to being respected and feared so asking him to be friendly was not something that came naturally to him so she could understand why he resorted to trickery rather than asking politely but that didn't mean she approved and she would tell him as much when they were alone tonight. Right now though she would have to bear the brunt
of Gemma's anger for Stefan's deception so she dragged her sore muscles into the shower to get ready for Gemma's arrival.
"Good morning, Aiden. Wow it's so quite this morning where is everyone? Don't tell me it's the monthly staff meeting and I am late?" Gemma asked worried as she hung up her coat in the staff area.
"Well erm... " Aiden began.
"Good morning Gemma!" Lilly smiled and Gemma paused before she returned Lilly's smile and greeted Lilly in return. " Aiden why don't you go to the living room I will call you if I need you." Lilly said giving Aiden an opportunity to escape which he quickly took before Lilly could change her mind.
"Gemma can we go into the kitchen and talk please?" Lilly asked in her naturally sweet tone.
Gemma hesitated before she finally nodded her curiosity getting the better of her and she followed Lilly into the kitchen, which was weirdly as deserted as the rest of the house." Coffee?" Lilly offered and Gemma nodded as she stared at Lilly nervously...did Lilly know who she was, is that what this is about?
"Gemma..." Lilly said as she offered her the mug of warm coffee," I am afraid I have to apologise to you and I owe you an explanation..." Lilly said nervously.
Gemma lifted her gaze and looked at Lilly in shock that was the last thing she expected to hear, "I don't understand..."
"You see after our encounter on Friday I got my hopes up we could be friends...like I thought we might be when we first met until something changed and I think I know why our relationship, which looked to be on the way to forming a good friendship, changed..." Gemma tensed and braced
for the next words to come out of Lilly's mouth. "I think it changed when I
grew closer to Stefan and I know why...you feel intimidated by Stefan don't
you? And that's why you distanced yourself from me, because you didn't
want to get too close to someone so friendly with Stefan."
Gemma blinked and sighed with relief Lilly obviously didn't know her
real identity, although so was correct partly in her assumptions. At first
Gemma was instantly drawn towards Lilly and liked her almost instantly, as
Lilly's kindness and natural warmth made it near impossible not to like her
and her situation- of being held against her will as Stefan's collateral made
her possibly a future Allie, however as Lilly grew closer to Stefan Gemma
began to resent her for choosing to allow herself to become close to Stefan,
he was a monster and anyone who was close to him could never be a friend
to her- could they?
Lilly could see Gemma was processing what she had said so waited a
few minutes before she continued. "I owe you an apologie as after you left I
expressed my feelings to Stefan and told him I wanted the chance to be
friends with you but that he was preventing that from happening by
intimidating you so I asked him to allow me to invite you to dine with us so
you could see the other side of Stefan...the side I have come to love. Yes he can be angry, dominant and when the occasion calls for it violent, as he is a Mafia Boss but he has strong principles too and never hurts women and does a lot of charities to help women and children. He is also kind, romantic, caring and senstive and I would like it if you dined with us tonight to get the chance to see that side of him for yourself. I am sorry as I asked Stefan to invite you but he tricked you into coming today instead as he is still a work in progress and doesn't always have the best people skills...but he is trying, Would you please stay for dinner tonight and get to know the real Stefan?" Lilly asked.
Now Gemma was truly speechless, he had tricked her into coming in today when by the looks of it all the staff where off just so he could dine with her? Gemma was annoyed that he had tricked her but she had to admit it did offer the perfect opportunity for her to complete her mission- to get to know Stefan and get close to him. "I am angry but I will agree as I would like to be your friend if it is at all possible..." Gemma said genuinely. " And I am curious to know if Stefan does have another side and to get to know him better."
"Thank you!" Lilly said diving into Gemma's arms and hugging her making Gemma feel guilty about deceiving her. " Stefan has arranged a spa day for us here today before dinner...if your up for it?" Lilly asked hopefully.
"Sure why not? I am here now anyway and since there is no work to be done..."
"Excellent, come on I have tonnes of new swimsuits Stefan bought me that I haven't had a chance to use yet, and your the same size...lets go and raid Stefan's champagne stash and try out the Jacuzzi in the garden. The
massage and beauty therapists won't be here until lunch time so we have
the morning to talk!" Lilly said as she dragged Gemma excitedly towards her and Stefan's room so they could change and Gemma followed behind giggling- both kindly at Lilly's excitement and in happiness that the plan she had spent years on was finally progressing.
Gemma and Lilly had spent the day getting pampered and Stefan had arrived home and changed as did Lily and Gemma- into clothes Lilly had kindly let her borrow.
"Good evening ladies, you both look beautiful. Did you have a nice day ?" Stefan asked as he kissed Lilly and smiled at Gemma before he pulled out both of their seats and tucked them both in in a gentlemanly gesture, surprising Gemma.
"We did, although don't think your forgiven for your trickery, we will discuss that later." Lilly growled and Stefan sighed.
"Gemma... I am sorry for deceiving you, I did so because I knew how important this was to Lilly and I didn't want to disappoint her, none the less you deserved me to ask you respectfully rather than trick you." Stefan said.
Lilly smiled at Stefan pleased and Gemma stared at him in shock, did he just apologise to her?
"Ermm... thank you?" Gemma said unsure of what else to say. Dinner was brought out and after the initial awkwardness Gemma was surprised at how easily the conversation followed and at how Stefan interacted with Lilly...it was odd to witness the feared Mafia Boss so domesticated but she had to admit they were a cute couple and she was beginning to see Stefan in another light.
"So Gemma tell me about your family ...what are your parents like? Do
you have siblings? and where did you grow up?" Stefan asked and Gemma tensed before she cautiously answered.
"My father wasn't a good father or a nice man and thankfully my mother and I escaped his cruelty when I was six. So its just me and my mother. I grew up in France my mother raised me as a single parent and we were very poor but we had each other and she has managed to overcome the horrors of her time with my father and is now happily married and still lives in France." Gemma replied truthfully but leaving out important details.
"I am sorry," Lilly said as she squeezed Gemma's hand
supportively.
"I am sorry too. My father was also abusive towards me and my mother and I grew up fearing for my safety and my mothers so I know how traumatising that situation can be for a child and woman. Your mother made it out though, she must be a very strong woman to do that." Stefan said making Gemma look at him strangely- she had no idea Stefan grew up similar to her.
"Thank you she is, she's my inspiration and the most important person in the world too me." Gemma said smiling as she thought about her Mother.
"Mine was too..." Stefan said sadly making Gemma feel sorry for him. But I was a lucky enough to find Lilly and know she is." Stefan looked at Lilly with so much love and Gemma could see Lilly returned his gaze with the same amount of love, had she really misjudged Stefan all these years? Dinner continued with lots of laughter and by the end of the night Gemma was very confused and phoned the one person she knew could help her figure out what to do next- her mother. мама? Я обедал с ним
сегодня вечером, и я не знаю, как я к нему отношусь..."
Gemma told her mother everything and her mother listened before she
gave her opinion, " Мой совет, Джемма, продолжать свой курс и
-
выполнять свою миссию. Это разумная вещь, чтобы сделать..."
(Translation Gemma said: " mum? I had lunch with him tonight, and I
don't know how I feel about him...")
(Translation Gemma's mum replied: "My advice, Gemma, is to
continue on your course and fulfil your mission. It's a smart thing to do
...")